We pride ourselves on not only providing great information and great reviews of hybrid bikes, but also scouring the internet to keep up to date on news about hybrid bicycles, cycling, and exercise.

That being said… “What exactly is a hybrid bike anyway?”

We just published our How To Buy A Hybrid Bike buying guide – make sure you go and check that out for full details of features and other things to consider when buying a hybrid bike.

In the meantime, we wanted to make this a separate post just because it is a question we get a lot.

The term hybrid bicycle can be confusing, especially since the automobile industry also took that term to mean a car that has both gas power and electric power for motor assist.

The corresponding term in the bicycle industry is actually electric bicycle which contains an electric motor which acts as a “pedal assist”.

A hybrid bike came about because for a long time there were simply two kinds of bikes: mountain bikes for the rough and rugged trails, and road bikes – slim and sleek specifically for riding for speed on the road.

As more people got into riding bikes for leisure or as an alternative form of commuting where speed was less of a factor, the need for a “hybrid” between the mountain bike that could be sturdy and handle bumps in the road and the road bike, something light and built for speed

Thus the term… hybrid bike

Make sure to check our Hybrid Bike Buying Guide for this and a lot more great info for when you research your hybrid bikes!

We came across an article in the Holland Sentinel about a city in Michigan that is starting to see an abundance of everyday use of hybrid bikes as gas prices continue to rise.

“Hybrid bicycles are becoming a popular way to get around the Saugatuck/Douglas area for those who refuse to pay current gas prices, which topped $4 per gallon Wednesday and continued to hover around $3.95 on the lakeshore Thursday.”

Not only are bicycles a great alternate to vehicular commute, but perhaps it will get this country back to fitness again too!

Hybrid Bicycles are becoming more popular each day as alternative ways to commute continue to be come popular for both those with a stingy wallet not wanting to pay high gas prices as well as those coming of mind when it comes to pollution and conservation.

According to this article at CNN Bill Gates is entering the frey by looking to “reinvent” the bicycle.

How? By replacing that greasy bike chain with a green and clean carbon belt.

“The chain is probably the only element of the bicycle that hasn’t changed in 150 years,” says Todd Sellden. Sellden is an engineer who has been with industrial giant Gates Corporation for 25 years and is now director of Carbon Drive Systems, which produces carbon belts for bicycles. In other words, he’s in a decent position to judge a perceived lack of innovation in bike parts.”

So far the alterantive has been Sonoma’s Chainless Evolution which is amazing. It lacks a bit of the topspeed that a chain bike would provide.

Bill Gates’ solution may be a “hybrid” (pun intended) providing a clean and “chainless” solution with the carbon belt, while keeping a high topspeed

That being said, if you plan to use the hybrid bicycle more for joy riding and recreation and commuting, not caring about topspeed, we still like the Sonoma Chainless.

Laws differ from area to area. Here in California, bicyclists are seen as operating vehicles and most obey the same laws. Bicyclists are not supposed to ride on the opposite street. They are not supposed to ride sidewalks.

Being bicyclists ourselves, sometimes this is a scary proposition especially if the area is not conducive to non-vehicular traffic.

That being said, besides the obvious helmet and protective gear, getting insurance on your bicycle might be a good idea. It never hurts to look into it. You may think that your $300 to $500 bike may not be worth the insurance but if you upgrade your bike over time you are looking at a $1000+ investment, and bike insurance may be surprisingly inexpensive, especially if it is a rider to a current insurance policy (pun intended!!)

Check out the informative article at Fox Business: “Bicycle Insurance: Rider May Want Rider” (yes I stole the pun)

Resources

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